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Slowpoke Line/FRLG
Slowpoke is a guaranteed catch in Viridian City, by using Surf in the pond; it is available in Fuchsia City with the same method as well, alongside Routes 6, 22, 23 and 25. It can also be found in Pallet Town, Cerulean City, Vermilion City, Cinnabar Island, and One Island as well as Routes 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 13, 19, 20, 21, 24 by fishing with the Super Rod. Slowbro can be found by walking or surfing in Seafoam Islands, Cape Brink and the Berry Forest, as well as in Cinnabar Island by fishing with the Super Rod. It is a LeafGreen exclusive, and cannot be found in FireRed. Despite the existence of Slowking in this game, players who want to proficiently use a Slowpoke without needing to wait until the postgame for an evolution will not have much of a choice on its evolution. Not that it is bad; in fact, there is little to nothing that Slowking can do and Slowbro cannot. The only disadvantage is that, being a level 37 evolution, Slowpoke will need to be babied until then, for a variable amount of time, since both Surf and Super Rod catches have a huge level gap between upper and lower bounds. Once Slowbro is evolved, not much can stop it. With a beastly coverage that goes well beyond its STAB, Calm Mind to support it, and even some physical options for unfortunate combinations of nature and IVs, Slowbro is the one-size-fits-all of basically any Kanto team. It can cover the role of physical as well as special tank, and in the vast majority of matchups, it will have an offensive option that is super effective against the enemy team, and often also one of its two STABs. Sometimes even a resistance, in case it was not already enough. This Pokémon may be slow, but it is unstoppable. Important Matchups * Gym #3 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): Congratulations for delaying this battle well beyond the imaginable! Slowpoke is not a good fit here. If it hovers around Lt. Surge's levels, it can only really defeat Pikachu by using Surf twice. Voltorb and Raichu both 2HKO it with Shock Wave, and are also faster. If Slowbro is already evolved, Surf will destroy everything purely on the grounds of Lt. Surge's Pokémon being more than ten levels below. * Gym #4 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): Slowpoke is once again a poor fit in this gym, going with a type disadvantage against a team of fully evolved Pokémon. All of them can 2HKO with Giga Drain, and Slowpoke is helpless against them, even if it knows Ice Beam. Slowbro, instead, scores a slew of OHKOs with Psychic. * Gym #5 - Koga (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): Psychic OHKOs everything except Muk, which is 2HKOed. * Fighting Dojo (Saffron City, Fighting-type): Psychic 2HKOs both of the Hitmons. Only Hitmonchan has moves that are not resisted by Slowbro, and even its ThunderPunch is a joke, coming off a low Special Attack against Slowbro's good special bulk. * Rival (Silph Co.): Ice Beam or Psychic both 2HKO Pidgeot, Surf OHKOs Growlithe and 2HKOs Charizard, and Flamethrower or Ice Beam OHKO Exeggcute. Psychic disposes of Gyarados and Blastoise in averagely three hits, but Slowbro needs to survive three Dragon Rages in the first case and never flinch to Bite in the second; alternatively, it may be healed during the fight to absorb hits more safely. Venusaur can 2HKO with Razor Leaf and, although this is not guaranteed, Slowbro is better off not facing it, especially considering the high critical hit ratio of its Grass STAB. Alakazam is theoretically 2HKOed by Surf, but it will likely use Calm Mind to make itself harder to take down with special moves, and then spam Future Sight, which is typeless and thus not resisted in this generation; unless Slowbro knows Shadow Ball, it should leave Alakazam alone. * Giovanni (Silph Co., Ground-type): Psychic OHKOs Nidorino, then Surf 1-2HKOs everything else, with only Kangaskhan possibly surviving two hits. Even then, Kangaskhan's Mega Punch struggles to even 4HKO Slowbro, so there is no danger. * Gym #6 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): Slowbro needs Shadow Ball to properly function in this gym; while Surf does have good damage output, it will quickly be rendered useless by Sabrina's Pokémon spamming Calm Mind. Shadow Ball allows the OHKO against Kadabra, and a 2HKO against Mr. Mime and Alakazam. Venomoth is simply OHKOed by Psychic. * Gym #7 - Blaine (Cinnabar Island, Fire-type): Slowbro can OHKO everything but Arcanine with Surf, though Arcanine is also OHKOed after one Calm Mind. Slowbro may either use Calm Mind against Growlithe or Ponyta, the less threatening ones; Growlithe's Bite does not deal much damage, and Arcanine's is only a 3HKO, which becomes a 4HKO after Calm Mind and cannot kill even with a critical hit, if Slowbro's health is high. * Gym #8 - Giovanni (Viridian City, Ground-type): Surf the hell out of everything. Slowbro should outspeed both Rhyhorn, significantly reducing the damage intake from Giovanni's Pokémon; if this does happen, it should not need healing against Dugtrio, Nidoqueen and Nidoking, all of which are OHKOed by Surf except Nidoqueen, which has a high OHKO chance but is not guaranteed to die in one hit. Either way, Slowbro is better off not using Calm Mind, because if Nidoqueen is indeed OHKOed mathematically, Calm Mind will only be a waste of a turn. * Rival (Route 22, pre-Elite Four): Pidgeot provides good setup material for Slowbro, since its Wing Attack is weak and FeatherDance is inconsequential for a special attacker. The amount of boosts Slowbro will need to successfully OHKO everything on the rival's team varies, however: Pidgeot is OHKOed by Ice Beam after one Calm Mind; Exeggcute is OHKOed by Ice Beam even without boosts; Growlithe and Rhyhorn are also OHKOed without boosts, by Surf; Alakazam is normally 2HKOed by Surf, so OHKOed with two boosts or more; Gyarados is 3HKOed by Psychic, and thus needs three or more boosts for the OHKO; Charizard is downed by one Surf after only one Calm Mind and is safe to fight in general, whereas Blastoise requires four Calm Minds to be OHKOed by Psychic, and they are all recommended as it knows Bite, and can lengthen the fight (making Slowbro need healing, as well) with flinchings. Lastly, although Venusaur is OHKOed by Psychic after one boost, its Razor Leaf can OHKO with a critical hit, so Slowbro should fight it only if no other options are available. * Elite Four Lorelei (Indigo Plateau, Ice-type): Since Dewgong is relatively inoffensive, Slowbro should profit of it to set up Calm Minds. All six boosts will be needed to score a slew of OHKOs, because Lorelei's own Slowbro will likely resist all of Slowbro's moves (likely Surf, Psychic and Ice Beam at this point). * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): Use Calm Mind once against Onix. Then, OHKO the two Onix with Surf and Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan and Machamp with Psychic. * Elite Four Agatha (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): Despite Agatha theoretically being a Ghost specialist, only two offensive Ghost moves are present on her team: the lead Gengar's Shadow Punch, and the ace Gengar's Shadow Ball. Shadow Ball is only a 3-4HKO, meaning Slowbro has excellent chances of winning this fight without needing much healing, if at all; Psychic OHKOs everything on her team. Healing items are still recommended for safety, as most of her Pokémon can inflict status conditions on Slowbro. * Elite Four Lance (Indigo Plateau, Dragon-type): The best option in this battle is to use Calm Mind once against Gyarados, then 2HKOing it with Psychic. Gyarados' Hyper Beam can only 3HKO. The two Dragonair and Dragonite are OHKOed by Ice Beam, for certain after one boost (the likelihood is variable without one Calm Mind backing it up), and Aerodactyl is OHKOed by Surf regardless of boosts. The most damaging move on Lance's team is Dragonite's Hyper Beam, which just barely fails to 2HKO; this means Slowbro will be safe for certain if used with caution, and healed as needed, since all of Lance's Pokémon are faster and the damage they can deal exceeds Slowbro's natural HP unless they are occasionally replenished. * Champion Rival (Indigo Plateau): Pidgeot is still non-threatening, but its Whirlwind could easily foil Slowbro's setups; Slowbro is better of 2HKOing it and, when Alakazam comes around, trying to set up against it instead. Alakazam is 2HKOed by Surf and can at best 4HKO with either Psychic or Future Sight, so Slowbro can Calm Mind at will against it. Rhydon is OHKOed by Surf regardless of stat boosts, but its Earthquake is also a 3HKO and there are chances of it outspeeding Slowbro, so do not fight it if Slowbro is in low health; heal first. Psychic is an average 3HKO against Gyarados and Blastoise, both of which have Bite; their Bite is a 3-4HKO in turn, so Slowbro can only win with at least one Calm Mind backing it up, which allows Psychic to net the 2HKO. Four Calm Minds are best, as they will net the OHKO instead. Arcanine and Charizard can also 3HKO at best, and they are OHKOed by Surf after one Calm Mind (2HKOed without boosts). Venusaur is OHKOed by Psychic after one Calm Mind, as well, though a Slowbro without boosts is unlikely to make it; its Sunny Day and SolarBeam combination will OHKO Slowbro if SolarBeam hits. Exeggutor can also 2HKO with Giga Drain normally, but is doable with two Calm Minds, which allow Slowbro to OHKO it. * Post-Game: The Psychic resistance helps Slowbro a lot; with patience, it will overcome Mewtwo with relative ease. Healing items will still be needed, since Mewtwo knows Recover and Surf only slightly outdamages its Psychic. Moves What moveset Slowpoke will have upon capture greatly depends on the level it is found at. It starts with Curse, Tackle and Yawn, and learns Growl at level 6. Curse is a great move, which allows it to run a physical set if need be, though its special movepool is better by far. It gets its first STAB, Water Gun, at level 13, though this is irrelevant since the Surf HM is likely already available by the time Slowpoke is caught. Then, it learns Confusion at level 17. Keep this move, as it will not learn a better Psychic one for a while, unless the Psychic TM is spent on it (a somewhat wasteful option, since it will later learn the move by level, but possible if no other Pokémon on the team can make a good use of that move). Ignore Disable at level 24, and Headbutt at level 29 is not too bad, but there are far better options on the physical side and even in the Normal department. Amnesia, at level 36, is good for Slowbro that want to run a wall or utility set. As Slowbro, it will finally gain access to Psychic at level 44. Optionally, Slowbro's evolution may be slightly delayed to level 40, to make Slowpoke learn Psychic then. Lastly, at level 55 comes Psych Up. Leave that alone. Slowbro's movepool is amazing. Besides the obvious Surf and Psychic, the latter available even early by TM, it gets Ice Beam and Blizzard like most other Water-types do (and should run), and it can also learn Flamethrower and Fire Blast. That is right, a Water Pokémon other than Volcanion and Ludicolo that has a Fire move. The perfect crowning for this amazing variety is Calm Mind, which both heightens Slowbro's special bulk and prepares it to curbstomp everything in sight. If, for some odd reason, Slowbro should run a physical set, it can keep the aforementioned Curse (or be retaught Curse, if caught past the natural learning level), and then use a mix of Earthquake, Shadow Ball and Brick Break to deal damage. Its Attack is only average, but after two Curses it is guaranteed to hit like bricks. Recommended moveset: Calm Mind / Flamethrower, Surf, Psychic, Ice Beam Recommended Teammates * Grass-types: Grass and Electric are the only weaknesses Slowbro will be in trouble when faced against. Conveniently, Grass-types cover for both, especially the common dual Grass/Poison ones, which get additional coverage to hit their Grass cousins with. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Venusaur, Vileplume, Victreebel, Exeggutor * Fast hitters: Slowbro's Speed is its only bad stat, which means it will usually not be bothered taking hits in succession. At any rate, glass cannons can help it function even better, sparing Slowbro from unnecessary additional damage if all that must be dealt is the finishing blow. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Alakazam, Rapidash, Gengar, Electabuzz, Tauros, Jolteon Slowbro's Bug and Dark weaknesses are largely not relevant and trivial to cover for, since there are essentially no Pokémon in the game with good Bug or Dark moves. Normal-types can be an optional help against Agatha, but even Slowbro is more than capable of winning against her. Other Slowpoke's stats Slowbro's stats * What Nature do I want? Modest and Quiet are excellent options, since Slowbro does not really need its Attack or Speed. However, even Adamant can work, because Slowbro's Attack is good and it gets pretty great physical coverage. * Which Ability do I want? Own Tempo will be useful more often than Oblivious, since essentially nothing in Kanto has Attract. However, it does not make a huge difference. Slowbro will still be good. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? As soon as can be, since Slowpoke's stats are not very high. Plus, unless two gyms were skipped, the enemies Slowpoke will be facing will already be at Slowbro level or above, which is one more reason to evolve it as early as possible. * How good is the Slowpoke line in a Nuzlocke? Incredibly good. Its coverage gives it super effective moves against almost everything it faces. It has the stats to take hits, and out of its five weaknesses it will only realistically have to face one, Ghost, in the Agatha fight, and Agatha's ghosts are not exactly known for their physical prowess. It has everything a team needs, and works even better than Alakazam in this generation. * Weaknesses: Bug, Ghost, Grass, Electric, Dark * Resistances: Fighting, Steel, Fire, Water, Psychic, Ice * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Dragon Category:FireRed/LeafGreen Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses